Gosh...I love this little gallery...I love the owner...I go here all the time just to learn...The first time I went there was an abstract metal sculpture of wings by the cousin to the Benetton fashion guy...Awesome...Cosmo, the owner of La Parete, told me that it was cut out of the metal, not welded...Fascinating...I stared & looked for $10K in my pocket to buy it... Another visit & there was a giant painting with a swan(ok,update:I really think it was actually a white Heron waterbird not a swan, actually-in my mind I see a big white waterbird, but I realize it was a skinnier white bird, so a Heron, anyways, go see for yourself or ask!) on a nest by water by a famous Canadian artist(I had the name & now I forget, duh!)...Cosmo told me the artist had died recently...We both almost cried when he said that...It is a beautiful painting & later I looked online to see more examples...Again I looked for money to buy this piece... That afternoon someone came in to ask if a work was worth what another dealer was asking...Cosmo said no it was a fake, not an antique at all because the support was made of a brand new material that could not possibly have existed on the date the dealer had told the person...Customer left to return the work & I was thrilled & impressed at the wisdom of the advice... Another lady came in & she was obviously an art museum curator from somewhere important...This little gallery in a not-chic area with a not-chic decor was bringing in heavy hitters with huge knowledge... I think La Parete Gallery is the best kept secret in Toronto...Great art & a very healthy selection of great Canadian art & it is contemporary... The cronies who hang out there are fun too...They don't mind a talker (me) & they genuinely care about art, not just sales... Note: Bring them a decent coffee if you go...Someone brought giant coffee in paper cups from the Tim Horton's in the gas station & I was told it was the worst coffee they had ever tasted...(Of course, coffee from a gas station is really a gamble anyways)...(The giant cups were the subject of much laughter though...)

On my way to Canadian Lumber Centre, who are partners with Home Hardware, & who are the only ones who carry (well, special order), the Circa 1850 Marine powdered resin that I use to make my cultured marble with...Oh I am going to start a new sentence that last one was too long for coherence... Ok, so on my way for this very very long walk to pick up my order, I stopped in briefly to the new Navillus Gallery around the corner from where we live... This time, before I walked in, I made a decision to do the look see quickly, in case fumes were a problem... Good forethought, fumes were a problem... Ok, so very quickly in, "hello" & "hello back" & they "if you have any questions please ask" & I decided the two gallery girls were nice & pleasant & that is actually quite uncommon for gallery girls to be... One wall looked like Norman Rockwells'..."Are these Rockwells?" "Yes, they are"...The tiny printed card came into focus, Norman Rockwell...Mental note to make my cards huge so you don't have to stoop or squint to read them...(Afterthoughts: The Rockwells didn't "Feel" like Rockwells...They looked 'like' Rockwells...But I didn't feel them...This has left me wondering if Rockwells have been forged...Certainly it has been long enough & certainly printers can do a good job today...It wouldn't be the first time I saw forgeries in Toronto...Dalis get forged here too...I apologize for my insinuation here, but my spidey senses were alerted when I saw these...-which led me to look at everything else with heightened scrutiny & suspicion...) I saw works that were very spare abstracts with a gentle line or gesture through one side or the middle...I thought, Betty Goodwin, Helen Frankenthaler, Jack Bush...But no, it was not one of them , it was somebody I did not know who was doing work very reminiscent of someone else, but I couldn't put my finger on the person... Then again, some work that looked very much like Group of Seven work, very much...Again, a squint at the card & no, it was just someone I did not know working in that very close style... In the very back I got excited briefly thinking these were Cy Twomblys...But no...Someone else I had not heard of was doing a very nice version of a Cy Twombly... I left as fast as I entered for fear the fumes were going to muck up my lungs for the rest of the day...Mostly that glue quality, with some hard varnish & turpentine...I hate not being able to breathe after visiting an art gallery... Galleries should have water features & indoor gardens...Rock gardens at least with Zeolite rocks which remove smell...It is just so painful to think of these young girls sitting all day breathing that crap in... In terms of the aesthetics of this gallery? My gut tells me that people who come from the movie business are going to like art that "looks" good but is not necessarily original in terms of the artist having a fingerprint style that is not a copy or knockoff...Art in movies is known to be knockoffs...A cheaper look-alike that can get beaten up on the set & is not subject to royalty fees or insurance costs...The art in this gallery looks pretty good from a distance...The distance a camera might afford...But up close it leaves me yearning for authenticity...

Today I walked...Walking far is good for my lungs...It also helps me to get out of my head... I walked by the Frederic Inside Gallery that opened in March...I walked in...I met the owner &realized that Frederic was in fact Scott Staiman who owns Kernels Popcorn & who used to ownthe Blue Dot Gallery...I guess he is so well known for his popcorn biz that he wanted a new identity for just the artist thing... The works are fresh & naive & full of optimism...I like that...This is obviously somebody who hasmanaged to keep the child inside alive... There was alot of work in the space & I felt a little like I was inhaling glue...Fluid Acrylics turns out, with laquer...I think artists need to be really careful about fumes in galleries...Not just for their own health but also because it causes one to want to leave quickly, which is a bit detrimental to business... I would encourage artists to do less work, much less work & in doing so, reduce the amount of fumes in their spaces...I am probably of the opposite opinion of the painting a day movement...Instead of painting a new work every day for a year, why not do one painting a year & make it a masterpiece? Not only will that reduce fumes, it will reduce materials consumption & will reduce the glut of fast food type art...Honestly I like fast food, but if that is what your art is going to be then you should not expect to charge slow food gourmet prices (but I digress)... I liked Scott...I mean Frederic...He seems genuine enough & reasonably polite...I also respect what he has done for popcorn... I think he should move to the next level in art though...It is time he started creating one masterpiece instead of many many many blurted thoughts...There is just too much happening...He has the child thing going on very well, but I think he should move into gaining some respect for his skills...He needs to work on the technique thing... There are also some questions...The canvases look pre-stretched, pre-primed, pre-made...Are they? Respect for oneself as well as the respect of others can come from starting from scratch...Go back & do the grunt work yourself...Sweat a little...Do the carpentry...That will make you more of an honest artist... Switch into different mediums...Watercolour...Pencil...Oil Pastel...Inks...This will force your drawing skills to evolve... There is a danger of someone who comes from the business world, a danger of them being viewed as dilettantes by other artists...This can be overcome by paying your dues in grunt work...Invent a new colour...Put together your own stretcher bars...Move to 3 dimensions...It all is looking a little too easy right now...Really not bad at all, but a little too easy... But maybe I am wrong...Maybe the popcorn king is destined to do popcorn art? Probably...& that is ok... Good luck on your path...May your efforts bear fruit...